Top Countries for Chinese Investments

With $3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves and a growing need for resources to power its growth, China has been ramping up investments around the world. Net outward-bound foreign direct investment (FDI) by Chinese companies grew from $5.5 billion in 2004 to $68.81 billion in 2010.

But investments by Chinese companies have generated plenty of political backlash in some countries, and several big deals have fallen victim to regulatory concerns. In 2011 alone, $32.8 billion worth of investments proposed by China failed to be completed, according to the Heritage Foundation. That’s more than half the $60.1 billion in overseas deals made by Chinese companies last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Some notable failures include a $5.4 billion PetroChina deal in Canada and Bright Food Group’s $2.5 billion bid to buy French yogurt maker Yoplait.

The tide may be turning though for Chinese investors. The massive financing needs of its two biggest trading partners — the U.S. and Europe — could leave Beijing spoiled for choice as China plans to spends $560 billion in foreign investments over the next five years, according to Reuters.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of 10 countries that saw the largest net foreign direct investment (FDI) from China between 2004 and 2010, according to figures from China’s Ministry of Commerce.

So which countries were the top destinations for Chinese investments? Click ahead to find out.